Top 5 E-Business Predictions 2011

The last few years have been a turbulent time for businesses facing a volatile economy. More recently, changes in government in countries have impacted businesses through changes in legislation and areas such as taxation. However in the face of adversity, entrepreneurialism amongst individuals seeking opportunities from the Internet has continued to thrive.

Deborah Collier Chief Strategist and Managing Director at Echo E-Business investigates and delivers her top 5 predictions for digital business in 2011

Government strategies to reduce national deficits are likely to have a significant impact on sales and employment, but innovation in technology has opened up opportunities for both individuals and large organisations wanting to maximise the potential of the Internet. Lets take a look at my E-Business predictions for 2011 and consider how they might affect you:

1) Tax Hikes to Increase E-Commerce and Exports

According to the Centre for Retail Research and online shopping group Kelkoo retail sales in the UK will fall by an estimated £2.2bn in the first three months of the year as a result of January VAT increases. Retailers are forced to either lower their prices to minimilise the impact of VAT on the consumer, add the VAT to existing prices to avoid loss of profits or split the burden between themselves and their customers. In many cases, particularly with high priced, businesses are forced to sell abroad where VAT is not levied. E-Commerce has enabled easy access to a global marketplace and this can only result in an increase in exports, in terms of both physical and digitally delivered products and services.